From our Friends at BikeDenver.org
Our Safety on Denver’s Roads & Trails is at Stake

It’s been a great summer for biking in Denver. Whether you ride a few times a year or ride to work every day, you know that biking is booming in Denver.

Bike commuting numbers rose to exceed 4 times the national average, and we also saw increases in the number of bike events and in participation in events like the Denver Century Ride, Tour de Fat, and USA Pro Challenge. From bike shops to B-cycle, every bike indicator in Denver is rising.

This summer also saw some growing pains and re-introduced us to existing challenges. We heard a lot of frustration from people who walk, bike and drive about unsafe behaviors. Complaints ran the gamut from bicyclists running red lights, incidents of extreme harassment by motorists, pedestrians feeling threatened by bicyclists on sidewalks and trails, and just about everyone (bikes, cars, joggers and even scooters) using bike lanes improperly.

How do you want to race and by that I mean what are the check list of items you mentally go through before you decide to do a CX race or not? Over the past 12 months the hum of races getting too expense is starting to turn into a roar. Some are saying that bike racing, particular CX is starting to price itself out of existence. In what use to be a cutters style race where racers would cobble together second class parts and show up pretty much clueless to what cross was all about are now showing up with Carbon A and B bikes and are prepped with CX specific training given to them by their coaches. Is that evolution or is that elitism? In a recent poll we did we discovered that about 3/4's of the riders want bare bones racing with no prizes, no announcing, no extras, just a course, parking lot and less than $25 entry fee (after all late fee's and extras applied). That's not to say that big event racing should disappear it's just that within a month 3/4 of the races could be bare bones to keep the riders coming back. While that might not eliminate the carbon on course it should make your day just a little bit easier to swallow.

I love happy gas at the dentist. I love drugs. They have a time and a place and a purpose. With the birth of each of my children I was ready to take whatever it took to get the job done. It just so happened that I didn’t need any. I guess that my body and my babies and all that goes along with delivering small melons with legs and arms seemed to work for me. But the minute I was being pushed out the door of the hospital I had my prescription in hand for Vicodin or whatever they wanted to give me.

Very interesting Tedx Boulder talk by Brady Robinson, who describes himself as the Executive Director of the Access Fund, a longtime climber, the current chair of Outdoor Alliance, a family man, and a bike restorer from Boulder, Colorado